While they danced
by clawmachines
Summary: Zarina and Hook have a brief conversation as they dance, which leads to something more. Rated T for now, potentially the rating may become M.
1. Chapter 1

"When did you become a dancer?"

"Oh... I dabble."

They stepped in time (well, James stepped; Zarina fluttered), smiling as Oppenheimer played away on his accordion.

"You haven't been practicing just for me, have you?" James asked with a sly smirk as they switched hands. Zarina laughed.

"Don't flatter yourself!"

"Well, no matter who you've imagined dancing with as you're practicing away, I must say you're rather good. Especially considering that you've had to hover all this time."

"Full of compliments today, aren't we, James?"

"My dear Zarina, they are simply observations."

Zarina tutted. "James, you are forgetting your place."

"My apologies. Captain," James corrected. She nodded as a thank you.

"You are forgiven. Try to remember to address me as such while amongst the crew," Zarina said, acting stern, and she wagged her finger for good measure, which caused James to chuckle. He brought Zarina closer, her hand still clasping his index finger.

James looked at her through lidded eyes and said in a low voice, "How would I address you were we alone?"

To his surprise, Zarina flew closer.

"Were we alone... I would love to hear my name upon your lips."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author's note**: This is no longer the dance scene in the movie. I kinda forgot Tink and the gang were there during it. So, this is just a fun time before the movie. Alright here we go._

_****In response to SmarterThanArty**: "nsfw" stands for "not safe for work," which basically means it involves adult themes. I've changed the description to make that more clear. _

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The pirate dance led to a celebration of what their future held. The crew talked excitedly over quite a few rounds of grog - however, James and Zarina had stayed sober; James had agreed to be the designated driver (...of the ship), while Zarina simply wasn't sure how it would affect her, being a fairy and all. Eventually, everyone else fell asleep - some had passed out, actually - which left James and Zarina alone at last.

James cleared his throat.

"Lovely sky tonight!" he said with forced vigor. Zarina smirked and tugged his ponytail.

"You're thinking about what I said earlier."

"H-how did - No, I'm - the sky -" he gave up and nodded with an apologetic smile.

Zarina's eyes sparked with mischief, and she fluttered to the door of her quarters, beckoning him with a wave of her finger.

James swallowed and stood abruptly. He patted his shirt down in an effort to stop his hands from sweating. Zarina went through her little door, and she peeked at him from the crack before gently closing it.

James did his best to open the larger door silently, but of course, it creaked more and more horribly the more slowly he pried it open. His face reddened not only in anticipation, but also with panic, as a few members of the crew had begun shifting on their sleep. Zarina sat patiently on the desk as James finally threw the door open, rushed inside, and shut it behind him in a single breath.

The fairy crossed her legs with a smile. Her skirt rode up a little, exposing her thigh; she stroked along it, suppressing a chuckle when James lurched at the sight.

"You - wow," he breathed. "You certainly know what you're doing."

Zarina's suppressed chuckle burst into a guffaw.

"I haven't done anything yet!"

James's anxious face changed to a grin.

"Don't laugh," he said. "This is all just..." James put his hand to his cheek and pouted his lips out dramatically. "...so sudden."

Zarina giggled and flew to his forehead, giving it a pat.

"Hey. No pressure," she said with a wink. "Just do what seems natural. And if it makes you feel better, we're in the same boat."

"Well, yes, we have been all this time."

"Smart-ass."


	3. Chapter 3

"What's with you, anyway?" Zarina asked, crossing her arms. "Awhile ago you seemed as confident as ever. I thought you were going to be the one whisking me away, not the other way around."

James looked guilty. "Well I didn't think anything would come of it!" He covered his mouth instinctively, trying to quiet himself. "Sorry. But does it really matter?" He held out his finger for Zarina to perch on. "I have you now."

"Oh, come on, we both know it's me that has you."

"Is that a challenge I hear?"

"What if it is?"

"Then I would gladly compete with you." James tried to grab Zarina with his free hand, but she was too quick, flying down from his finger and making a sharp turn to the ceiling. She glared down at him, but her eyes glinted as the expression became a determined smile.

Zarina yanked off her knee-high boots in a swift motion, pelting them at James's head. He covered his mouth once more to silence a chuckle as they bounced off of him.

"Go on, keep it up. You're only doing me favors, Captain," he said. She undid her tiny leather corset and chucked that at him as well. He looked up with surprise, wondering if she would go any further. But alas, Zarina had simply began to stare back at him, hands on her hips, her bare feet dangling in the air.

"And what, might I ask, happened to your competitive streak, James?" Zarina smiled down at him. When he looked at her questioningly, she gestured to him, glancing up and down, as if to say, 'go on, it's your turn already.'

James blushed as he realized what she was waiting for. He pointed to himself with raised eyebrows.

"Yes, you!"

He decided to follow her lead, starting with his boots. He picked one up and brought his arm back to throw it at her.

"Ack! Hey!" Zarina waved her arms in front of herself. James laughed in reply, setting it down. He self-consciously looked down to his vest and undid it, shaking it off of his shoulders.

"There. Done."

"We are definitely not done yet," Zarina said with a playful smirk.


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors note: **_Thank you for supporting my story! Having people wanting me to continue is surprisingly inspiring! Also, I changed the last line of chapter 3. It was a kind of weird one, but I think it's better now. Enjoy!_

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Zarina untied her headband, pulling it out from her hair and swishing her amber locks back and forth, allowing its volume to show. She poofed it up a bit and tried to comb it with her fingers. Her hair was thick enough to stop her fingers halfway through each comb. James watched and wished he was small enough to help her brush it out. It looked so beautiful – he had always been fond of it, and he had the strange desire to sit down with her in his lap, loosening the tangles for her.

Zarina shook out her hair again with a scoff of derision at herself, muttering about it being uncooperative. She then flitted to the back of James's head.

"I hope you don't mind, James."

"Mind what?" He asked a bit dazedly, coming out of the daydream of being the same size as Zarina.

"My taking your hair out of its ponytail."

"Oh! No, that's fine. Go ahead."

"Great! I've been curious what you look like without it." She undid the band with a little difficulty and then stood on his head, stomping her foot lightly to let him know she was done. James waved at her like she was a mosquito so she would get off while he ran his hands through his hair roughly.

He whipped his head around like a wet dog drying itself. His hair bent oddly where the band had been no matter how much he tried to fix it.

"Don't be self conscious," Zarina said. "Stay still so I can look at you."

James obeyed easily. She still had the command of the captain even in a more personal setting. He wondered how she would react if he made anything like an order. Blushing a bit and getting thoughts out of his mind, he glanced at Zarina, who was looking him over with a growing smile.

"Is it ok?" James asked after what seemed like an awkward silence.

"You look so handsome," she said softly. James blushed again, mentally cursing at himself for it, as he was quite unused to being so swayed by words of affection, seeing as it hadn't happened before.

"Not bad yourself," he said, trying to break the tension he felt. Zarina rolled her eyes as if to say, 'gee, thanks.'

She hovered a bit longer before inching closer to his face, reaching out and stroking his cheek. He shuddered – the ghostly touch of her tiny hand felt strange to him, like a teardrop evaporating on his skin. Zarina leaned in and kissed where she had touched. James could feel the flapping of her wings as they sent a gentle breeze through his eyelashes, but could not differentiate the touch of her hand from a kiss. He twisted his mouth in what was supposed to be a hidden frown, but Zarina saw through it as she glanced down at the sudden twitch.

"What is it?" she asked, flying away from his face to see him better. James let out a short sigh.

"I'm sorry, Zarina. I'm just thinking about how this is going to work out," he said quietly, hunching absent-mindedly as he crossed his arms. "I mean... How are we going to be able to, ah... do anything, anyway?"

Zarina zipped down to his arms and patted him, pulling at his finger to loosen him out of the awkward knot. When he complied and let her take his hand, she snuggled his thumb and looked up at him with a weary smile.

"I don't really know," she admitted. "I figured we'd just try."


End file.
